Review: A tale of Gold Rush adventure in _Heartbroke Bay._

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A few months ago, I asked my friends who are avid bookworms if they knew of any good fiction or nonfiction books about Alaska. One of the novels that was suggested to me was Lynn D'urso's Heartbroke Bay, set in the times of the Yukon Gold Rush of the late 1890's. Hannah is a lady's companion, traveling by train through the northern Great Plains to the fledgling city of Seattle. Working for Lady Hamilton is unpleasant, especially as the arrogant woman seeks out every chance she can to remind Hannah of her place. For Hannah had once been a wealthy businessman's daughter, and would have been married into a life of great comfort and ease. But her father's business had been caught up in a market crash, and now to survive, Hannah needs to work -- and the only real work there is for a woman of her class is to be a sort of maid to the woman. It's drearying, soul-beating life and Hannah aches to be free of it anyway that she can. Fortunately, that freedom comes in the form of Hans Jenson, a strapping young Midwesterner who shyly courts Hannah during the train trip, and fires her imagination of the gold strikes that have been found in the Yukon, so much gold that all someone has to do is pick it up. It's a dream that has enthralled thousands, men and women both who have sold everything that they own to head to Alaska and to see if they can claim a share of such fabulous wealth. Besides their mutual attraction together, Hannah and Hans decide to marry as soon as they reach Seattle, and pool their resources together. But Seattle is mobbed with hundreds of other people who have the exactly the same idea, with fares on the ships that are running overpriced and what supplies that there are spiraling in cost. It's a severe wake up call for both of the young people, but they decide to take a chance and press on to Alaska. With each mile, the wildness and remoteness of the place start to get to both Hans and Hannah. Their first stop, Skagway, is a mad rush of miners and those leeching off of the miners, and their struggling to get up the White Pass, a grueling trek up to Yukon Territory, where the route into Klondike begins -- however, to prevent starvation, the Canadians have stationed the Mounties at the top of the pass with orders to let no one through unless they have all of the food and equipment to sustain each person for a year -- a ton of supplies to be hiked up the treacherous mountainside. Unable to amass that much, or even hope to gather together enough money to buy even a portion, it seems that Hans and Hannah's dreams are over. And the rough town of Skagway certainly isn't a place for a lady such as Hannah. Together they decide to move onward to Sitka, a town that is not quite so rambunctious, where they can possibly find work, and perhaps make enough money to put together a grubstake and try to find a way into the Yukon. And for a time, it seems that everything is going to be all right. Hannah finds work helping a shopkeeper sort out his accounts, Hans is working at the lumber mill, and a third man, Harky, a giant bearded fellow of uncertain past and not many words, has befriended them and sees himself as a protector of Hannah. With a lot of hard work, the trio have survived the rough winter, and when spring comes, they are going to make another try for the Yukon. But another possibility arises with Dutch, a small, rather shifty fellow who has a small fortune tied up in a handkerchief, of gold dust and a single nugget, and he tells the three that he knows where the claim is, that all they have to do is get there and start digging. They just need to get supplies and a boat, and they can go. The boat that they find is a little craft, captained by a young Irishman, Michael Severts, who is willing to take them if they will include him in their plans. And so this group of five head for Lituya bay, a small place on a map, and start to dream of the riches to be found. But nothing will be as they think it will, and in the remote bay, where there are icebergs and treacherous tides, there's nothing much to inspire hope. Despite careful planning, plenty of supplies, it seems that nature itself is conspiring against them as the summer season passes too quickly, and accidents occur, and still -- there is no gold. Soon there are suspicions and lies and plenty of paranoia, until the isolation and the loss of hope begin to rob them all of sanity... This was a novel that fit the cliché of staying up to read until dawn. The tensions are drawn tight as these five people find themselves trapped in a place from which there might be no escape, and their only tie to the outside world is a Tlinglit shaman who may be there to help them -- or to make certain that they all vanish into the cold and ice. The author Lynn D'urso has crafted a tight story here of survival against terrible odds, and that drew me right into the story to where I could feel the story taking shape, and the events that are creating a nightmare. Each of the characters are unique, and interesting on their own, with Hannah telling the bulk of the story, an educated, upper-class Englishwoman being forced to use every bit of strength and cleverness to survive. Everyone here has good and bad points to them, which helped to make them more realistic, and all the little details of living in the wilderness being brought to life, the culmitive effect was a great read. And now for the kicker. I am not going to add anything more except to warn the reader not to peek at the final pages of the book and the author's note. Save it until the very end where you will be rewarded with a surprise that will spin the entire story on its head. And yes, it is worth it to do that. This novel got five stars from me and a hearty recommendation. Heartbroke Bay: A novel Lynn D'urso 2010; Berkley Books, Penguin Group USA ISBN 978-0-425-23680-2